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Ford attendance

Disrespectful or just busy? Politicians offer a myriad of excuses for missing Ford's funeral.

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 31, 2006

WASHINGTON - Everything was in place for former President Gerald R. Ford's state funeral Saturday night - everything, that is, but the statesmen.

President Bush sent his regrets; he was cutting cedar on his ranch in Texas. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his deputy, Richard Durbin, couldn't make it either; they were on a trip to visit Incan ruins. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a pass, too - as did about 500 of the 535 members of Congress. Only one Cabinet member - Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez - accepted the invite, organizers said. A 6-to-3 majority of the Supreme Court, including Ford's appointee, John Paul Stevens, ruled against attending.

Congressional staffers and Ford family representatives scrambled to find sufficient greeters and honorary pallbearers to join Vice President Dick Cheney and a score of former lawmakers and Ford administration officials.

The public offered some improvement. Three hours before the remains arrived, there were only 20 people in line to pay respects, but by later in the evening, the line had grown to hundreds.

Ford's 6:30 ceremony was tucked in between the 4:30 p.m. Alamo Bowl and the 8 p.m. Chick-fil-A Bowl. And it was just bad luck that the ceremony would fall on the same day as James Brown's funeral, a Redskins home game and the appearance of photos of Saddam Hussein's execution.

The White House sent out a press release from Crawford, Texas, saying Bush will pay his respects when he comes back to Washington, then go to another service on Tuesday.

[Last modified December 31, 2006, 00:19:15]